Thursday, July 16, 2009

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — The MCA is set to go into a tailspin again as its deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was recently issued a notice to appear before the party disciplinary board over his 2007 sex DVD scandal.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Dr Chua was issued a notice to appear before the disciplinary board on Aug 4 to answer charges of bringing disrepute to the party more than 1½ years after DVDs were circulated of a sexual tryst he had with his mistress.

In late 2007, the DVDs, which were believed to be of secret recordings by unknown parties of Dr Chua and his partner engaged in sexual acts, were circulated in the MCA man’s home state of Johor.

By early 2008, Dr Chua admitted to being the man in the DVD and resigned as the health minister and party vice-president after accusing political rivals in MCA of being behind the recordings.

Now, he is being hauled up again on the same charges.

The Malaysian Insider has learned that the MCA disciplinary board’s notice to Dr Chua has been brought to the attention of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman.

MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, who is barely on speaking terms with his deputy, is understood to have told the BN chairman that he has no knowledge of the notice.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Najib had hit the roof when he found out about the decision to dredge up the sex scandal.

“The PM felt that this was hardly the time to do something like this,” a source familiar with what happened told The Malaysian Insider.

While there is no evidence to show Ong is behind the decision to haul up Dr Chua, the party president’s claims of having no knowledge of what his disciplinary board had decided to do was believed to have been greeted with some incredulity by Najib and other Umno leaders.

By hauling up Dr Chua again, the party disciplinary committee appears to be setting the stage for an all-out war between the top two MCA leaders.

Rumblings in the party suggest the MCA is heading for a split not seen since the days when it was split into the Team A-Team B battle between former president Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and deputy president Datuk Lim Ah Lek.

Dr Chua had already been hauled up once before the disciplinary board, this was soon after he had resigned all his party and government posts last year.

Then, the disciplinary board chairman Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy recommended that no action be taken against Dr Chua as the latter had resigned all his party and government posts and taken responsibility for the scandal.

The latest move, believed to be backed by supporters of Ong, is likely to set in motion a bitter fight.

Supporters of Dr Chua are now likely to go ahead with a plan to call for an extraordinary general meeting to possibly remove Ong as party president.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — It was the first lively exchange between the defence and prosecution in the lead-up to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy II trial.

While wrapping up the defence team's bid to get more proof from the prosecution, Anwar's lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah accused the prosecution of actively trying to bury important records that could prove the opposition leader's innocence, just as it did in the first sodomy trial 10 years ago.

“The danger of suppression of evidence happened in Sukma's case and is happening in this case,” Sivarasa charged today, referring to medical reports on Anwar's Indonesian adopted brother Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, which came to light years later and helped clear his name of the crime.

“This application is to prevent that from happening. We can see the resistance,” the Subang MP added, provoking an outcry from the head of prosecution Datuk Yusof Zainal Abiden.

Yusof, the Solicitor-General II, denied Sivarasa's claim and insisted that if the view were true, the defence would not have received anything from the prosecution.

“In this case, we have supplied documents so suppression of evidence does not exist,” he said huffily, prompting Sivarasa to stand up quickly to raise a point.

But the High Court judge must have caught a certain look on Sivarasa's face, because he immediately stepped in and cut off both parties.

Anwar and Wan Azizah leaving the court after the hearing was adjourned to later in the day.

“Point taken. You're just saying there should be no suppression of evidence, OK?” said Justice Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah.

The federal lawmaker, however, was dissatisfied with the judge's action and later told reporters that the exchange between him and Yusof “affirms our contention that there is an active political conspiracy” targeted at the PKR leader.

Zabidin will give his decision at 2.30pm today whether Anwar can obtain extra evidence from the prosecutors in his Sodomy II trial.

The judge adjourned hearing at 10am.

Anwar's other lawyers Edmund Bon and Amer Hamzah Arshad had kicked off today's hearing with their rebuttal against Yusof's reading of the law yesterday, claiming the court has no power to force it to give extra proof.

Taking it in turns, the tag team duo rejected Yusof's view.

Bon insisted the court has a role to play in making sure the accused person's right to defend himself fully is protected, especially when the accused is challenging the prosecution in court for withholding relevant information.

He said the court must not be confused on the type of evidence that can be admitted in the trial, stressing that at the pre-trial stage, the accused has rights to all material that may help his case, even if the prosecution decides not to use it later on.

“We're not saying these documents should be given more weight now,” Amer added in his turn in arguing to be given the case notes from the doctors and the chemist outlining the way they arrived at their conclusion in the scientific reports.

“A person charged with a criminal offence should be given a fair trial. If he can't be tried fairly, then he should not be tried at all,” he said forcefully.

The hearing resumed this morning without Anwar, who arrived five minutes late with his wife Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Ismail and family and supporters.

There were few supporters outside the courtroom, leaving the police to relax its tight security cordon at the court complex in Jalan Duta.

At the outset of the trial this morning, Sivarasa asked the judge to order investigating officer Jude Pereira out of the courtroom as he is a key prosecution witness.

The judge agreed and ordered Pereira out of the room.

Anwar, 61, who stands accused of sodomising a former male aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in June 2008, has repeatedly claimed he is being denied a fair trial.

The former deputy prime minister, who made his political comeback last year, has also applied to strike out the sodomy charges against him.

He is also trying to disqualify the present seven-member prosecution team headed by Yusof . He claims they are a part of a “malicious” prosecution handpicked by Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, whom he accuses of trying to put an end to his political career.

If convicted, Anwar faces up to 20 years in prison, effectively snuffing his dreams of taking over the federal government.

Vasantha Kumar denied the new organisation would further split the Indian community even though there are now nearly a dozen political parties and NGOs claiming to speak for its interest.

“Many of them claim to speak up for the Indian community but they all have their own agendas,” he said.

A graduate in management and marketing from Universiti Utara Malaysia, Vasantha Kumar worked with Citibank, RHB Bank and MBSB as a mortgage recovery officer before his involvement with Hindraf.

He claimed that Pakatan Rakyat had failed the people by not fulfilling the many promises it made during the election and cited the Kampung Buah Pala issue in Penang as an example.

He also said that Barisan Nasional was no better.

“Barisan is more aware of Indian issues now and is offering help but what they are giving is inadequate. They should have given these assistance 20 or 30 years ago,” he said, adding his organisation, whose name he declined to reveal as yet, would raise Indian issues to persuade the government of the day to address them.

He said the government should have a separate allocation each year to help the Indian community in the yearly budget.

“We are neither with Pakatan nor Barisan but will pressure both for help,” he said while pledging his group would eschew street demonstrations.

“We will organise pressure and demand in a peaceful manner,” he said.

With his announcement, there are now three organisations which have emerged out of the banned Hindraf movement — Uthayakumar’s Parti Hak Asasi Manusia or PAHAM, Makkal Sakthi Malaysia Party led by former Hindraf national co-coordinator R.S. Thanenthiran and Vasantha Kumar’s proposed NGO.

I propose to meet the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein on the need for the country to have a new Inspector-General of Police to fulfill Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s pledge of “People First. Performance Now” and to provide new police leadership and culture to reverse the tide of crime in the past five years.

I will seek confirmation that Hishamuddin is backing Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s renewal for another term as Inspector-General of Police although he failed on all counts in his three years as IGP (one year as IGP and two years as renewal of his term) on what the Dzaiddin Police Royal Commission have outlined as the three core functions of an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service – to keep crime low, eradicate corruption and protect human rights.

Musa is now talking about the police giving priority to stamp out street crimes, when this is one of his greatest failures as IGP in the past three years.

I don’t think Musa himself can remember the number of times he had declared an “all-out war against crime” in the past three years which have all ended up in “all thunder but no rain”!

If an IGP with such dismal KPIs on the core functions of the police service could have his term renewed a second time, all the talk of Prime Minister Najib of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now” would be totally discredited.

Dare Musa make public his report card of what he had achieved in his three years as IGP in the three core police functions outlined by the Police Royal Commission?

Is Hishammuddin seriously suggesting that none of the other nine top police officers occupying key police positions below the post of IGP are not qualified or competent enough to become the new IGP to provide a new police leadership and culture to roll back the tide of crime in the past five years?

In this connection, why has the government resorted to the unsatisfactory practice of invariably appointing a new Inspector-General of Police from officers who have only one or two years of service left, and even with extension are only likely to become time-servers rather than visionary leaders without the time frame to carry out any long-term planning and implementation of police reforms?

Do away with any extension for IGPs. Instead, appoint an IGP who would have longer span of service to carry out long-term planning and implementation of police reforms.

The country’s most famous IGP was Tun Hanif Omar who was appointed IGP at the age of 35 in June 1974 and went on to serve with distinction for two decades until his retirement in January 1994. May be 20 years is too long for anyone to become an IGP, but one year or two years are downright ridiculous!

I have been baffled by reports that the Police Force Commission, which is constitutionally responsible for the appointment and emplacement of members of the police force, has backed a second extension of the service of Musa as the country’s IGP in September.

I have three questions:

When did the Police Force Commission meet and endorsed Musa’s extension as IGP?

What were the reasons for the Police Force Commission’s decision to back Musa’s extension as IGP, are they in line with the “People First. Performance Now” motto of the Prime Minister, could these reasons be made public and can they withstand public scrutiny?

How can the Police Force Commission recommend the extension of Musa’s service as IGP when Musa is himself a member of the Commission?

You can see their pictures here. And the Foundation’s objectives here.

Najib, who is the patron, has expressed happiness at the formation of the Foundation. According to Najib on his blog:

Some months ago I met with two highly-respected members of our Malaysian society, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar and Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye for a purpose: to discuss the establishment of an independent organisation that would epitomise the spirit of 1Malaysia.

Yesterday, I was happy to hear that Yayasan 1Malaysia and its Board of Trustees were officially presented to the media. I was invited to become the patron of the Yayasan, an honour I am proud to accept.

Walk my shoes, just to seeWhat it’s like, to be meAll be you, let’s trade shoesJust to see what I’d be like toFeel your pain, you feel mineGo inside each other’s mindJust to see what we findCause where you see it from where you’re sittingIs probably 110% differentI guess we would have to walk a mileIn each other’s shoes, at least

Politicians will always be politicians. They can say anything that suits their purpose for the moment and then switch wily nily when the tables turn. See what Guan had to say about the Bukit Cina and compare with what he is doing with Kampung Buah Pala. This was in a speech titled:

‘Vision 2020 Of Malaysia Being A Developed Nation Will Be Not Succeed If There Is No Clean Government, No Balanced Growth, No Human Resource Development And No Equitable Distribution Of Economic Benefits’

At The Save Bukit Cina 20th Anniversary Dinner on Nov 28, 2004

He said “…..(Malacca, Sunday):DAP’s success in saving Bukit China from being demolished by the then BN and MCA in 1984 shows the importance of preserving important cultural and historical heritage over development projects for the sake of private gain. Both BN and MCA saw only ringgit signs when they proposed leveling the oldest Chinese cemetery in Malaysia to build houses, shophouses and shopping complexes.”

Our comment: See the hypocricy in his words. What we are now saying about Kampong Buah Pala and about the move to level the only remaining IndianHeritageVillage in Penang is that it is a heritage location and must remain so for all of posterity . But does he care. He seems to be more interested in pleasing his investor benefactors all in the name of the ringgit signs he talks about..

He continues “…..Unlike BN and MCA may see ringgit signs in the largest piece of available land in the centre of Melaka town, DAP and the people of Melaka saw 3 important links in preserving Bukit China namely:

·cultural and historical heritage not only for the Chinese community but also as an important mark of friendship between Chinese and Malays when Princess Hang Li Po married the Melaka Sultan;

·environment heritage in providing a green lung that made Melaka a more natural and livable area for resident apart from helping to maintaine its historical atmosphere; and

·an important tourist site that attracted foreign tourists and revenue helping Melaka’s economy.

Our comment : So is Penang different from Melaka that the logic does not apply, or is it because it is Indian heritage and the logic does not apply because the Indians are too powerless to matter, or it is because he is now Chief minister and the logic does not apply any more. Everything of what he said about Bukit Cina applies to Kampung Buah Pala but that does not matter anymore.

In that same speech he goes on to say “…It is indeed shocking how UMNO Kota Melaka can be allowed to owe quit rent for 25 years of RM 83,701.15 and UMNO Jasin allowed to owe cukai pintu for 18 years of RM 83,701.15 without any action taken. In contrast there have been cases where private landowners who owe only 2 years in quit rent have their land confiscated by the state government. UMNO and MCA should be ashamed for not respecting the law even though they are the government..”

Our comment: We are saying that there is fraud involved in the sale of land not owned by PenangState to a private developer. But he chooses to totally ignore this point as it will instantly make the sale null and void. This will turn the whole picture around – something he is showing clearly he does not want to do now. Which bigwig is he trying to protect like UMNO in Melaka? Guan Eng should be ashamed for not respecting the law even though he is the government, by not taking action on such fraudulent activity within his Government.There seems to be a very clever and silent conspiracy involved in this multimillion ringgit deal - between some bigwig developer, The State administrators through their cooperative and guan Eng.

All his arguments that he cannot do anything other than pay compensation to the Villagers do not hold water as he is nowhere near exhausting all the options available. He has held his position steadfastly reiterating like a parrot that he could not do anything against a federal court order, as if that was what we are asking him to do. He is playing very dumb here. This is a very well disguised dumbness for all I care.

His argument that this sale will affect investor confidence is utter nonsense as the instability that will be caused by any move to raze the village is much much more and he full well knows that, which is why he is in such a hurry to sweep the problem away, by teasing the Villagers and offering the Villagers compensation for their land.

His argument about the precedence this will create is just more rubbish – this is the kind of precedence any government will want to set, which touts Competency, Transparency and Accountability as its operating philosophy.

He says this will create precedence for other people who have been cheated off their land to lay legitimate claim of ownership to the land and cause trouble for developers and investors in the process. In the first place he won the Chief Ministership on the promise that he will champion the people's cause against such treachery. But what do we get, more old wine in new bottles.

In summary, Guan Eng should stop his antics ,should stop trying to fool the people and come clean and save the village or he and his DAP will face the same ignominous doom as UMNO. He is failing the people miserably with these antics. we expected a more erudite democrat when we elected him, but what we have is just more of the same crap that we tried to replace in the last elections.

(CNN) -- Michael Jackson's upbringing was shaped by two very different parents.

An image of Michael Jackson and his parents was on the big screen during his funeral in Los Angeles.

His mother, Katherine Jackson, has been portrayed by her children as the loving glue that bonded the family together, while her husband, Joe, was the harsh disciplinarian whose iron hand not only shaped one of the most successful musical families in the world, but also elicited enough fear in his superstar son that it sometimes made him ill.

Now the couple of 60 years stands at the center of a custody drama surrounding their grandchildren.

By many accounts, Katherine Jackson, 79, shared a special bond with her second-youngest son.

In a 1993 interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson spoke glowingly of the matriarch.

"My mother's wonderful," he said. "To me, she's perfection."

According to a biography posted by A&E Networks, Katherine Jackson was born Kattie B. Screws in 1930 in Barbour County, Alabama.

Her family reportedly relocated to East Chicago, Indiana, when she was 4, and her name was changed to Katherine Esther Scruse. A childhood bout with polio left her with a permanent limp.

She was a teenager when she met Joe Jackson, an aspiring musician and a boxer whose first marriage dissolved. Katherine said it was love at first sight.

"I just had a feeling that he was going to be my husband," Katherine Jackson said in an interview shot last year by Xonger Global Entertainment Networks for a planned reality show about the family. The video was obtained by ABC News. "The first time I saw him, I fell in love with him."

Together, they raised 10 children in a modest Gary, Indiana, home, while Joe worked as a crane operator, according to the A&E biography.

A devout Jehovah's Witness, Katherine nurtured the children's love of music by singing with them, made her sons' costumes as their father booked local gigs, and served as the family's backbone.

"As best as I could tell from both talking to [Michael] and my observations of the family throughout the years, Katherine was the one that had really unconditional love for Michael and was always there, was always supportive and was always comforting," said journalist and CNN contributor Bryan Monroe, who conducted the last major interview with Michael Jackson. "It was the epitome of a mother's love."

Joe Jackson's relationship with his famous son was a bit more complicated.

Monroe said the hard taskmaster -- who Michael said sometimes held a belt in his hand as he and his brothers rehearsed -- evoked mixed emotions from the singer.

"In my interview with him, [Michael] spoke almost in the same breath of the fear he had of Joseph's sternness ... and at the same time the respect he had for Joseph's work ethics and his teachings," Monroe said. "He said [Joseph] taught him and his brothers an awful lot about discipline and performance."

According to the biography posted by A&E Networks, Joe Jackson was born in Arkansas in 1929 and pursued fame early on, first as a Golden Gloves contender and later as a member of The Falcons, a band he started in the mid-1950s.

When he noticed musical talent in his brood, he formed the Jackson Brothers with his three oldest sons and served as their manager.

The group later became The Jackson 5, with young Michael serving as lead singer, and shot to superstardom.

Psychotherapist Daniel Aferiat, who never treated any Jackson family members, said such an awesome responsibility for a young Michael Jackson could account for the conflicted emotions he expressed in his 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. "I just wish I could understand my father," he told her.

"If as a small child Michael Jackson was involved in making business decisions and had to have the burdens in some ways of the financial responsibility for the family, then it can turn around who's the caretaker and who's being taken care of," Aferiat said.

Aferiat said children identify with their parents and learn how to operate in the world based on how they are treated by their parents. The drive for stardom and perfection that Joe Jackson reportedly instilled in his children would have long-lasting effects, Aferiat said.

"People are complicated, and while we all would like to think in more black-and-white terms -- someone's good and someone's bad -- [Michael Jackson] had a very complicated, very difficult and, what I would unequivocally say from what I've heard in the news, a traumatic life," Aferiat said. "If you are a child and you have to give up your childhood, it's not like a pair of shoes that you just get to replace at a later time. You don't get that back."

By many accounts, Katherine Jackson tried to keep her children's lives as normal as possible given their fame, even during their adulthood.

Author Richard Hack co-wrote the 1995 book "Jackson Family Values: Memories of Madness" with Margaret Maldonado, the mother of two of Jermaine Jackson's children. He said Katherine Jackson was "like Mother Earth" to her family.

"She kept everyone pretty well grounded because she didn't buy into all of the publicity and a lot of the glitz," said Hack, a noted biographer who has written 17 books. "Mind you, she did drive around in a Rolls Royce, but she still knew how to make a meal. She would get into the kitchen and bring the family together."

Back then, Hack said, most of the family lived together in the Encino compound. These days, Katherine still resides in California, while her husband reportedly has relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada.

"We're not together all of the time," Katherine Jackson said in footage from the planned reality show. "We stayed together for many, many years."

"But we see each other all the time," she added. "I go to Vegas and he'll come here."

Their living arrangement could become an issue during a custody hearing.

Katherine Jackson was granted temporary guardianship of the children by a judge several days after her son's death.

It is still unknown whether Debbie Rowe, the biological mother of two of the children, will seek custody.

While Katherine is the only parent seeking legal custody of Michael Jackson's children, his father has been quoted by ABC News as saying he believes the two of them are ideally suited to take care of and raise the children "to be strong Jacksons."

Hack, the co-author of "Jackson Family Values," said that in the past Joe Jackson's children viewed him as the "instigator and dictator" who no longer managed their careers but still viewed himself as their voice.

A bit of that behavior was on display last year when the elder Jackson returned to Gary, Indiana, and endorsed a planned family museum.

The Post-Tribune newspaper reported that he didn't believe the city needed to gain his famous children's approval to build the project.

"I'm Joe Jackson," he was quoted as saying. "I don't need them to approve anything."

But when it comes to Michael Jackson's children, the court will have the final say.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim walks in to the courthouse in Jalan Duta today. Anwar has vowed to fight BN’s intimidation to the very end. — Picture by Choo Choy May

By Debra Chong and Edward Cheah - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — Beleaguered opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed today the federal government is pulling out all the stops in its charge to crush the fledgling Pakatan Rakyat alliance, but vows not to cave in.

“We’re going to make it very difficult for them. We’re going to fight at every stage,” he told reporters grimly after an afternoon in the High Court here, where he faces a second sodomy charge in a decade.

The former deputy prime minister expressed his disgust at what he claims is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s attempts to “intimidate” the opposition.

He (Anwar) had earlier failed to get the court to postpone hearing his bid for evidence he claims the prosecution is purposely withholding from him, effectively denying him a fair trial.

Anwar’s lead lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah had pulled out last night due to poor health. The PKR leader wanted the judge to give him more time to appoint a new counsel but was turned down.

A disgruntled Anwar told reporters the “system still perpetrated injustice”.

“We need to change the system,” he stressed.

He pointed out that Najib’s administration had abused public institutions such as the judiciary and the national anti-corruption body MACC, whose setting up he had supported.

“I supported in 1997 to give the Anti-Corruption Agency more power even though my colleagues in the Cabinet and Umno did not support this.

“But now it’s being used as a tool by the Umno-Barisan Nasional,” he said.

Anwar alleged that the authorities had failed to take action against reports of massive corruption by government officials, including the Attorney General and the Inspector General of Police despite strong evidence in their direction.

Instead, they use the powers to “harass” opposition leaders on the flimsiest of excuses, he added, referring to the latest MACC raid on two DAP lawmakers in Selangor today.

“Your right to expect a fair trial, your right to be defended against gangsters and Ah Longs, what about PKFZ? Where’s the investigation there?

“You think you can silence the opposition by intimidating and harassing me like this? You think harassing Anwar like this, he will behave himself?” he charged.

“On the contrary, we will exercise our rights to speak up for the people,” he swore.

Below is a report by The Malaysian Insider that came out two days ago. But there is something missing in this report. What they reported was mainly the 'routine' item. What we would consider the more pertinent item was not included. And this pertinent item is the fact that all those police officers who had signed the Statutory Declarations have been hauled in and interrogated as to how Malaysia Today got copies of these SDs. That was what The Malaysian Insider did not report.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Police Force Commission backs extension for IGP

The Malaysian Insider

The Police Force Commission, which is constitutionally responsible for the appointment and emplacement of members of the police force, has backed a second extension of the service of Tan Sri Musa Hassan as the country’s Inspector-General of Police.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the commission, whose members include top current and retired civil servants and the home minister, wants Musa to remain the country’s top cop when his current contract expires in September.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has still not given his nod yet, however, and is expected to have discussions soon with Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and other stakeholders soon.

So far it is understood that there is a strong sentiment within the administration for Musa’s term to be extended.

Another extension of Musa’s service is expected to draw political controversy.

Over the weekend, the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang urged the home minister not to renew Musa’s contract as the crime rate continues to soar.

Another extension of Musa’s service is expected to draw political controversy. — Reuters pic

According to statistics provided by the veteran parliamentarian, there were 150,000 cases of crime in 2004. This figure ballooned to over 200,000 in both 2007 and 2008 despite Parliament tripling funds allocated to the police under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to RM8 billion.

Lim said that this shows the failure of the Musa to stem the tide of rising crime cases despite an increase in resources.

Musa had reached retirement age two years ago and received a two-year extension of his term.

The original extension was also controversial as it came about after Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail ordered the then Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to close investigations on graft accusations against Musa for allegedly being involved in the release of members of illegal betting syndicates.

Musa was also accused last year by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of being involved in a plot to fabricate evidence during the 1998 investigation of the former deputy prime minister’s black eye beating case.

Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim, the police officer who investigated the black-eye beating in 1998, has also accused Gani and Musa of fabricating evidence in the assault.

Mat Zain’s accusations, contained in a sworn affidavit, have been submitted as evidence in Anwar’s current Sodomy II trial.

Anwar is likely to use the alleged evidence of a previous conspiracy by Gani and Musa against him to back his claims that the current sodomy convict ion is politically motivated.

The exposure in court of such allegations would be damaging to the authorities who are keen on showing impartiality in the prosecution.

It is unclear if the prime minister will take these factors into consideration when he considers whether to give his nod to Musa’s extension.

Musa was first appointed to the post on Sept 12, 2006, succeeding Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Omar.

Musa, a law graduate, joined the service as an inspector on Nov 11, 1969.

Since then, he has held several important posts including as Malacca prosecuting officer in 1973, Bukit Aman Narcotics Division director in 1981 and Kuala Kubu Baru Police College lecturer in 1986.

Musa held the post of Bukit Aman prosecution/criminal law deputy assistant director in 1995 and Johor Chief Police Officer in 2003.

In 1999, he headed the team which investigated the first Anwar sodomy case.

In 2004, he was appointed Criminal Investigation Department director before being made Deputy Inspector-General of Police a year later and then as the Inspector-General of Police the following year.

Now that Anwar Ibrahim's trial has kicked off maybe it is time to recap on what happened about a year ago with regards to the allegation that Anwar had buggered Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Malaysia Today previously published Dr Osman's medical report and the Statutory Declaration that followed it and the police subsequently raided my house and called me in for interrogation wanting to know how I managed to get my hands on these documents.

PUTRAJAYA, July 15 (Bernama) -- MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel has expressed gratitude to MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu for endorsing him to retain the party position at the party election, two months away.

"I am indeed, grateful to the president for endorsing me for the post. I have always believed that in being a deputy, you have to abide by whatever decision taken by the president.

"I will do my best to live up to the expectations, confidence and trust placed upon me by the party, its members and the community," he told Bernama when contacted.

Earlier Wednesday, Samy Vellu announced that he had endorsed Palanivel to retain the seat at the party elections on Sept 12. The party polls, to be participated by 1,400 divisional delegates, would elect a deputy president, three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee (CWC) members.

The deputy presidency is expected to be a three-cornered fight involving Palanivel, former deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam and incumbent vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan.

Both Subramaniam and Sothinathan have announced their bid to contest the party's second highest post.

Meanwhile, Saravanan expressed gratitude to the MIC president, saying that he would repay the confidence with hardwork for the betterment of the party and the Indian community.

He believed that delegates to the assembly in September would endorse the president's choice.

Devamany said, while the resposibility placed was heavy, he would carry it diligently, adding that members should work towards uniting the community and ensure MIC became a respectable political institution.

Samy Vellu Endorses Palanivel To Defend MIC Deputy Presidency

PUTRAJAYA, July 15 (Bernama) -- MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said on Wednesday he has endorsed incumbent deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel to defend the party's No. 2 post at the MIC elections on Sept 12.

Speaking to Bernama in a telephone interview, Samy Vellu also said that he had endorsed Human Resource Minister and MIC secretary general Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, Deputy Federal Territories Minister and MIC information chief Datuk M. Saravanan and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk S. K. Devamany for the three posts of vice-president.

SHAH ALAM, 15 July 2009: Five officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) today raided the office of Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah at the state secretariat building here today.

The officers were said to be looking for documents on how state allocations were being spent.

During the raid at about 5pm, the MACC also seized a laptop and a central processing unit from the Seri Kembangan assemblyperson's office located on the 15th floor of the building.

Yong's political secretary, Teoh Beng Hock, has also been taken in by MACC officers for questioning.

Yong is among seven assemblypersons and state executive council (exco) members who are being investigated by the MACC for allegedly misusing state allocations channelled through the Petaling District Office.

It is understood that the MACC started investigating this after receiving complaints from people who claimed that they had not received the money from the allocations.

KUALA LUMPUR, 15 July 2009: The High Court here today issued a temporary order for all documents and post-mortem samples in relation to A Kugan, who died in police custody, to be stored in the original form.

Justice Datuk Ghazali Cha issued the order after allowing an application by Kugan's mother, N Indra, for the documents, and tissue, blood and fluid samples to be stored until the court hears an application to strike out the police search warrant.

"I am applying for the status quo of the material to be restored. The post-mortem being carried out at the Pathology Department of the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (PPUM) could not be completed because the police had seized the materials," Indra's counsel, N Surendran, submitted.

The court postponed to 30 July the hearing of the application to strike out the search warrant issued on 6 April.

The date was fixed after Surendran applied for a postponement to enable him to prepare a reply to a written submission put in by the prosecution this morning.

Deputy public prosecutor Idham Abdul Ghani told the court that the prosecution would file an objection to the application to strike out the search warrant as the court had no authority to hear and decide on it.

The application was also legally restricted as the seizure (of the documents and samples) was authorised for police investigations, he added.

On 28 May, Indra filed a suit against the police for seizing documents and samples related to Kugan's second autopsy from the PPUM's Pathology Department chief's office on 6 April.

Kugan, 22, who was arrested in connection with the theft of luxury cars, died in police custody on 20 Jan. — Bernama

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak took office on April 3 saddled with the image of a tired United Malays National Organisation (Umno) politician. But that look may well be changing.

On June 30, just days before his 100th day in office, he dropped a bombshell of an announcement on the Malaysian economic landscape. Given how politicised the economy is, it proved to be a major whammy on the political front as well.

A key part of the Malaysian psyche was shattered when Najib announced the removal of a decades-old quota on Malay ownership of public-listed companies.

Companies will no longer need to sell 30 per cent of their shares to Malays. Instead, they will reserve at least 25 per cent of shares for sale to the public, of which half must be sold to Malays. That works out to 12.5 per cent, and if there are not enough Malay takers, the requirement will be waived.

Close watchers of Malaysian politics will recognise that it is a seismic shift.

The pro-Malay economic policy was never meant to be that narrow but Malaysia’s politicised economy meant that the 30 per cent quota had become a sacrosanct right a Malay leader ought never to question, much less quash.

In reality, it was a source of patronage and bred cronyism. Many politically connected businessmen became rich on the quota, evoking resentment among the Malay masses and minority races.

Najib disclosed that of the 54 billion Ringgit (US$15.2 billion) worth of shares sold to Malays from 1985 to 2004, only 2 billion Ringgit ($566 million) remain in Malay hands. The rest had been sold. So much for the original intent of building Malay equity.

The move breaks one major link of the patronage chain.It comes on top of other measures like the scrapping of the Foreign Investment Committee which oversees bumiputera participation in businesses. Earlier this year, he liberalised 27 sub-sectors of the services sector, and the financial sector.

What prompted these moves? Has Malaysia made a clean break from affirmative action?

Rita Sim of Insap, the think-tank of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), says he was forced to act by circumstances.

“He has no choice. Malaysia needs to be more competitive and of course, he needs to win back support for the Barisan Nasional (BN, the ruling coalition which Umno is the backbone),” said the Insap deputy chairman.

The ruling BN was hit badly in last year’s general election when voters deserted it in droves.

An aide to the Prime Minister said Najib was concerned over Malaysia’s declining competitiveness.

“He’s made it clear that he wants to tackle the structural problems. His overarching theme is 1Malaysia, and this can be seen from the measures,” he said.

Malaysia is Najib’s slogan of sorts. It appears to mean a policy that takes into account the interests of all races. Put another way, he is attempting to shift the balance towards injecting more meritocracy without completely abandoning pro-Malay policies.

Hence, along with the liberalisation, a 500 million Ringgit ($141 million) private equity fund was set up to develop bumiputera (Ethnic Malay) businesses.

Even the scholarship scheme is merely a new category. There will still be a racial quota in some categories.Critics like Universiti Malaya law professor Azmi Shahrom see such changes as merely papering over the cracks, rather than any serious dismantling of policy.

He pointed out that the system is still a lopsided one.To him, Najib’s aims are purely political - to weaken the opposition rather than to deliver real reforms.

“He needed to cut the legs off the opposition, and what better way than to hijack their platform,” he said.

But Najib supporters see it as keeping a delicate balance. There is already some dissatisfaction within Umno about these changes, though a fairly silent one so far as the government had taken pains to prepare the ground.

Over the last month, it met Malay editors and opinion-leaders to explain its policies, and the top Umno leadership was also briefed.

There is bound to be unhappiness. Years of prickly race relations have heightened sensitivities, and to some, the moves appear to be a capitulation to the minorities’ persistent demands.

“We want equality for all races but at the same time, the bumiputeras must be given the strength,” he said.Umno chieftains fear that Najib’s new approach would be used in a fear-mongering campaign among the rural Malays, especially in a by-election in Kelantan in a PAS stronghold on July 14.

Umno has decided on its message: the Malay agenda is still there but new ways are being designed to uplift the community and distribute wealth to the masses.

Some Malays agree. A Malay political analyst, for instance, says Malay self-confidence can grow organically only through genuine competition in an arena like the National Scholarship.

But it is harder to convince the masses. While surveys by the independent Merdeka Centre do show a more nuanced Malay sentiment, the overall sense of insecurity remains.“He’ll find it very hard to keep a balance,” said Sim of Insap.

Najib, a strong party leader with widespread grassroots support, will thus have his work cut out for him to persuade his party to follow his new path.

Subramaniam said this when asked to comment on a Bernama report today that Samy Vellu had endorsed his deputy Datuk G.Palanivel to defend his number two post in the MIC election on Sept 12.

On the statement by Samy Vellu that he was endorsing the incumbent deputy president, Subramaniam said: "It's up to Samy (Vellu) to make the statement although he (Samy Vellu) had earlier said that he would be neutral in the election."

Meanwhile, Palanivel announced that he would defend his post at the MIC general assembly which is expected to be attended by about 1,400 delegates throughout the country.